Pitt Football Portrait – Running Back Chris James, An Unexpected Reunion with Coach Pat Narduzzi

In 2013, Pitt was hurting and hunting for running backs and was down to two. Enter recruit Chris James from Niles, Illinois, and, based on videos, my own personal favorite recruit from the class of 2014.

Raised by his grandmother, this highly regarded recruit was thought to be too much of a reach for Pitt. According to scouting preferences, he had interest in another school, namely, Michigan State. The name of the coach recruiting him for Michigan State? Pat Narduzzi.

Fortunately for Pitt, James became enthralled with the program and city of Pittsburgh and chose to come to the Panthers. And also, as luck would have it for both him and coach Narduzzi, he is now reunited with his Michigan State recruiter and mentor.

Here is a sample of his outstanding play in high school:        http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1144262/highlights/98454380/v2

Note his ability to evade defenders with his footwork, catch the ball well, and turn on the afterburners when he gets loose.

If that isn’t enough, you-tube carries a workout of him that went viral. If you have the opportunity to see the you-tube video, note the distance of his jump from the floor.

There is a lot to look forward to this fall, and one aspect defenses will have to contend with more will be the contrast of Chris James’ screen play potential and “evadability” style to the pounding style of James Conner and Quadree Ollison.

\

The Pitt Football RR’s (Relentless Recruiters) Are All Over the Country

One issue that arose with Pitt fans the past three years was the extent of the recruiting.

We know of innumerable recruiting twitters from the current Pitt coaches, generally Rob Harley, Tim Salem, Andre Powell, Tom Sims, and Renaldo Hill, from Texas, California, New York, and several other states, within a very short time frame.

So, here is the state-by-state breakdown of still uncommitted recruits that have received 2016 offers from Pitt, based on ESPN recruit listings:

There are two five-star players listed, one from New Jersey and one from Louisiana.

There are 31 four-star players still listed:

Pennsylvania-5          New Jersey-4          Maryland-2           Virginia-1

North Carolina-1         Tennessee-1            Georgia-1              Florida-7

District of Columbia-1  Ohio-1                     Indiana-2               Michigan-2

Texas-1                        California-1             Utah-1  (Yes-Utah!)

There are 22 three-star rated players still listed:

Pennsylvania-4           New Jersey-3          Maryland-3          Virginia-2

Tennessee-1                Florida-4                  Connecticut-1      Ohio-1

New York-1                  Illinois-1                   California-1

There are 41 yet non-committed players that are not yet rated on the ESPN list:

Pennsylvania-6            New Jersey-3           Maryland-2        Virginia-5

Florida-7                      Connecticut-2           Ohio-5                Texas-1

North Carolina-2           Illinois-2                    Georgia-2          Michigan-2

Massachusetts-1          District of Columbia-1

This list is, of course, subject to change as the Relentless Recruiters add more offers.

Here is the point to the statistics above:

In the past, there were questions about recruiting being spread to other states.

That obviously is happening.

With the diverse group of assistant coaches that Coach Pat Narduzzi has assembled, all together their experience covers a wide range of states, including ACC states, which shows up in the offers.

In the past, there were questions about recruiting more players from Florida.

That obviously is happening, and likely with some networking through Coaches Josh Conklin and Rob Harley, who were at Florida International last season.

There is also still a presence in Pennsylvania.

These new coaches are being asked to put together a sustainable recruiting program at warp speed, which they are doing, and so they are being referred to here as the Relentless Recruiters.

Pitt Expectations

The ideal purpose of recruiting, of course, is to match a recruit’s ideas about and vision for himself with a school and coaching staff that can help him get a solid academic background, graduate, and mature, as well as to become the best football player possible.

That is also a way to minimize transfers through solid matches of player, coach, and school.

Reportedly, Michigan State has relied on developing 3-star players, on players that want to play in their system. Recently recruited, current Pitt players seem to fit that same mold. There has been discussion among Pitt fans the last three years about the meaning of player ratings. With Pitt’s record the last three seasons, it would still probably not be realistic to expect many five and four star players at this point to want to enroll at Pitt.

If you check the number of five-star players available and the top football schools, even many of those schools may only obtain one or two five-star players a year.

Point is, before Pitt accumulates four and five star players, they are most likely going to need to: WIN.

And the Catch 22 is that recruits come in with different ideas. Some players, like the type that have frequented Michigan State, are willing to put team ahead of self. If you win, and you get more future four and five star rated interested players, then you need to sort out:

who is interested in Pitt because they want to give their all for the team, and who is seeing wins at a school as the main incentive. We have seen recruits in the past drift elsewhere for a winning team, whereas they could have been on the first or second team at PItt.

Regardless, there has been progress in Pitt recruiting. The numbers may not show it to this point, but the excitement of the recruits at getting Pitt offers and their positive statements about the coaches in their interviews and twitter feeds show that everything is moving in the right direction. As mentioned before, also, most of Coach Paul Chryst’s recruits became interested/committed during summer camps.

The other positive is that Coach Narduzzi has apparently discovered past recruiting issues and is listening and addressing them.

There may be a temporary lull, but at some point the Pat Signal should blaze brightly on the twitter sky for all Pitt family and fans to see.

H2P!!

The New Pitt Football – An Optimist’s Delight

Pitt fans, it may be time soon to start humming bars of “Hail to Pitt” and “Sweet Caroline,” even during the Pirate games.

We could refer to the new coaches as the “RR-crew,” which would refer to their “Relentless Recruiting.”  Coaches Rob Harley, Tim Salem, Andre Powell, and Tom Sims have been tweeting about the many recruitment stops they are making. Many more offers have been made recently to recruits. It seems as if a new offer is made almost daily.

How might this affect the future of Pitt football? The more offers, the better the chances of landing a recruit.

And they are not just haphazardly making these offers, but giving them to very talented and strong character individuals.

Recall that Coach Paul Chryst gained most of his commitments at summer camps, when he and the recruits met person-to-person.  With the RR-crew going full tilt this spring, there is a possibility that summer camps may again be a source of commits, perhaps more so.

To this point, included in with the high school recruits, there are junior college players being recruited, that could fill spots that are currently considered weak links, for instance, the defensive line,  and also a complement to Tyler Boyd’s speed and unbelievable catches at wide receiver, to prevent a defense from double-teaming him.

Coach Pat Narduzzi continues to be upbeat about the program and communication between Pitt football coach and fans is likely at an all-time high. At this point, Pitt blog commenters rarely express any negativity, which is a sign that they believe in the manner in which Coach Narduzzi is running the program and are anticipating a positive outcome.

H2P!!

Pitt Football May Have Discovered California Gold with Juco Transfer Commitment

The Pat Signal went up Saturday. Receivers Coach Kevin Sherman helped spread the news on twitter.

Pitt has received a commitment from  wide receiver junior college transfer Rafael Araujo-Lopes (nickname RaRa). He is originally from Central Florida but has been attending Reedley College in California, the college his Florida high school coach had attended. Araujo-Lopes has found a home, and the Panthers may have pulled off a major coup, since he is relatively unknown to most schools at this point and could conceivably have received other offers.

Tennessee appears to be the only other school that approached him, and Pitt appears to be the only school that offered him.  Some believe that the lack of school interest is because to this point he played only briefly in junior college. Araujo-Lopes made his decision from visiting Pittsburgh this weekend.

He recently remarked that he needed to make a decision soon.

His statistics are solid and, on video, Araujo-Lopes has a remarkable ability to cut back and reverse field with lightning speed after getting the ball on a run or pass.

Araujo-Lopes has mentioned that Pitt was considering him as a third, or slot, receiver.

This adds more Coach Pat Narduzzi-type fast energy to the mix. This also could provide offensive coordinator Jim Chaney with a chance to run a full spread on some plays. In fact, a Tennessee fan commented in a Volunteer blog that Araujo-Lopes would fit perfectly into a spread offense.

Imagine Tyler Boyd, Elijah Zeise, Araujo-Lopes, and Avonte Maddox as the four wides. Blanketing all four would be nearly impossible, along with the possibility of criss-crossing Rachid Ibrahim and Chris James in the backfield on some plays where three of the four wide receivers are spread.

The addition of Araujo-Lopes should make Boyd even more difficult to double-team and increase the effectiveness of the run with the coverage needed on the fledgling recruit.

Congratulations to recruit Rafael Arauja-Lopes on his offer, decision, and commitment, and congratulations to the coaching staff on a potentially outstanding pickup.

Pitt Football Recruiting-Perseverance; Pitt Special Teams-Upgrade

The Pitt football coaching staff has been relentlessly recruiting.

Tweets from linebackers coach Rob Harley, tight ends coach Tim Salem, and running backs/special teams coach Andre Powell have been non-stop from California to the Atlantic coastline.

While the numbers on commitments are not there yet, comparatively, most of Coach Paul Chryst’s commitments came in the summer when players came to camps and experienced the school and coaching staff firsthand, and when the coaching staffs were able to evaluate the players firsthand in football situations.

It has also been pointed out that this coaching staff is going after more high level targets, and so these recruits are seeing more high level offers to evaluate and taking longer to do so.

Pitt fans were looking for overt recruiting effort, and this group of coaches is giving exactly that.

Two observations:

1.The open line of communication from the current coaching staff with fans has brought about a much more favorable perception of the recruiting process.

2. The sacrifices these coaches are making, considering they and their families are probably still in the moving process with families settling into finding homes/new schools/new jobs for family members and so on, are probably considerable, and yet the coaches are out on the road incessantly. They are first class role models to the players  for team effort.

As mentioned previously, I came across an exceptional book called “Beyond the Final Score” by former Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne, and would highly recommend its insights.

Here are some comparisons I discovered from the book:

Coach Osborne mentioned three approaches to leadership.

Of the three types, while Coach Chryst and Coach Narduzzi appear to have some traits of each type, IMHO, Coach Narduzzi fits more traits of Coach Osborne’s transformational (servant) leader.

Coach Osborne mentions being a role model, displaying empathy, and sacrificing self-interest as some of the transformational leader traits. Both Coaches Chryst and Narduzzi fit this mold. There are other traits mentioned where the two seem to coincide.

IMHO, where Coach Narduzzi excels and stands out as a transformational leader from Coach Osborne’s definitions is in his communication abilities, foresight based on ability to dig out and pick up on problems and deal with them quickly and assertively,  and his ability to convince others to follow a path to Oz together.

One other brief note, and starting today, a coaching comparison.

Upgrade in special teams coaching.

Three years ago, Pitt had no special teams coach for the entire season, only a special teams coach by committee. Whether this was due to coaching philosophy or a budgetary consideration by the coach/athletic department is a moot point, but, needless to say, some games were decided negatively by special teams play.

The last two years. Coach Chryst had appointed Chris Haering, for years previous to college coaching the Mount Lebanon High School head coach, as special teams coach. To the best of my knowledge, he had no previous experience as a special teams head coach, and, in fact, I believe that almost no one,or perhaps no one, on the entire staff had ever head coached special teams.

Now, thanks to Coach Narduzzi, we are blessed with a special teams coach with experience, Coach Andre Powell from Maryland, who should take special team play to a new level. As we have seen the past couple of seasons, special teams can make a major difference in ACC play. Even the yard you start first down from can make a major difference. Coach Powell has major ACC experience and, in this regard, should provide a quantum leap in special teams play.

The Pitt Football Spring Game: Plusses and Minuses

Video footage from the Pitt spring football game should prove to be a valuable tool for Coach Pat Narduzzi and his staff to evaluate his new team.

There were many positives about the game, some minuses, but overall a solid performance by both Blue and Gold sides.

The main plus was the defense. There was definite improvement. Except for an early run by running back James Conner and a few runs later by Quadree Ollison, redshirt freshman from Buffalo, the run was basically stuffed. Some defensive backs were moved up towards the line, as promised, and the result was strong stops on the run.

Coach Narduzzi was apparently pleased with the defensive effort, including praise for interior lineman Tyrique Jarrett, who played football at  Allderdice prior to attending Milford Academy in New York state.

A minus that popped up was on both sides in the battle between receivers and defenders on deep patterns. Wide receivers were getting open behind the defense. Since defensive backs played up closer, they were more susceptible to deep passes, similar to hockey players moving in deeper toward the opponent’s goal. In general, speedwise, receivers can run faster (Avonte Maddox being an exception) and so defenders let receivers run to them.

Another plus that appeared was defensive pressure on the quarterback. For the first time since probably the middle Dave Wannstedt era, there was consistent pressure on the quarterback. To protect the quarterbacks, no tackles were allowed on sacks, but it was extremely refreshing to see consistent pressure, and from several players.

While receivers did get open fairly often on deep routes, a minus that occurred on the deep receivers’ side more than once was drops on passes. Tyler Boyd was generally solid on catches, including some unbelievable catches, as well as Zach Challingsworth.   Dontez Ford did show some elusiveness after catches.  Jester Weah got free deep at least twice, but, as last season, had issues catching the ball. No doubt receivers coach Kevin Sherman will be working with him, and once he perfects catching the deep pass, he is going to be difficult to tackle because of his size and power.  J.P. Holtz also showed he can catch the ball on deep routes.

Chad Voytik showed substantial improvement on arm strength from last season from the beginning of the game, and Adam Bertke proved he has a powerful arm and could stretch the field over fifty yards.

Both were accurate earlier in the game. Less accuracy later on could be improved, however, it is possible this was due to defenses putting increased pressure on the quarterbacks or receivers being switched to get a look at them.

The short passing game was solid, including passes to James Conner (a wrinkle promised by the coaching staff for the upcoming season) and Chris James. In fact, the pass to Conner allowed him to cut more ways after the catch than his standard run. James and Rachid Ibrahim exhibited their speed on run plays.

On special teams, there were two blocked field goals; both appeared to be defensive stops as opposed to offensive timing. Ryan Winslow’s punts were solid, and, after settling down on his first kick, Nick Goldsmith showed that he can punt inside the ten yard line

Most punts were fair caught.  Some were run back until the player was tagged by a defender (no tackling on punts),  and if it had not been for those rules, Avonte Maddox would probably have run for a touchdown on one of the punt returns.

Defensive back Lafayette Pitts showed prowess as an offensive receiver.

In short, the defense and special teams prevailed, but much of the starting team offensive line was on the opposite side from the starting backfield and receivers, so the offense should look different when the starting players are reunited.

And also, in short, the players showed a lot of talent and potential.

Head coach Pat Narduzzi had a ringside seat look as he stood about ten to fifteen yards behind the line on most plays. (On a few plays, Lesean McCoy’s infant son got a piggyback ride view with Coach Narduzzi.)

All-in-all, it looks like it should be an exciting season for Pitt football in the ACC.

Pitt Spring Football Game: A New Beginning, A Show of Strength

The return of the Pitt spring game was eventful. Coach Pat Narduzzi has been staging tug of war games between two players at a time that are documented on you-tube and have shown the “new intensity.”  Saturday, the Pitt spring football game was a team-wide tug of war, a show of strength between the two halves of a team that showed determination on the field and determined looks when they came off.

The game evoked a multitude of thoughts. This first article will concentrate mainly on how some similarities and differences in the transition between the Paul Chryst era and the current Pat Narduzzi era appeared in the spring game.

First, a little background.

The Pitt spring football game was held Saturday afternoon on a beautiful, sunny day at Highmark Stadium on Pittsburgh’s South Side. With a backdrop of the city’s skyline on the downtown shore, and occasional trains and boats rolling by (at one time one train on each side of the stadium simultaneously), an overflowing crowd of Pitt fans and friends filled the venue. For the overflow, Pitt offered tickets to the Youngstown game.

When the gates opened a little after 11:30 a.m., a sweltering crowd, including many that had stood in line and many still parking or walking towards the stadium, found a row of staff members handing out lineup sheets (two-sided: blue team listed on one side, gold team on the other) and cheerleaders handing out various sized t-shirts, some blue for the Larry Fitzgerald team and some gold for the Aaron Donald team. Seating was first-come, first-serve. Most seats filled in quickly, and a polite crowd of Pitt fans and friends found a smaller Pitt band version in the stands and a Roc Panther mascot roaming the stands.

Perception by the fan base has been a critical factor in the Pitt cause the last three years, the Paul Chryst era. Much was unspoken, and so there was much speculation. In contrast, the Pat Narduzzi era has started with a multitude of communication and information.

The transition to the ACC went smoothly under Coach Chryst, but when, in the very first actual game, the Florida State game, there were defensive backs playing far off receivers and being burned play after play, fans were shaking heads in wonderment. In addition, there was no one special teams coach, but instead a conglomerate of coaches watching special teams being loosely coordinated by the head coach.

While Saturday was a spring game and not a first actual game, there were few  receivers with space. Defenders were in receivers’ faces. While receivers did get beyond the pass defense several times, part of this could well be due to the tighter line coverage designed to stop the run first, and Coach Narduzzi and the defensive staff will undoubtedly discuss and decide how to balance this aspect.

One surprise was Lafayette Pitts playing defense and occasionally showing up as a deep wide receiver. Not only that, he showed good route skills and showed he could catch the deep ball. His defensive knowledge no doubt helped him on  the offensive side.

Last season, players looked confused on where to position themselves. At least one of last season’s players reportedly mentioned this confusion. Players on interviews this spring have been mentioning the simpler defenses. Apparently a main issue under Coach Chryst and Coach Matt House was not the defensive knowledge, but the complexity of the schemes. As we know, defense is reactive to offense, and Saturday Coach Pat Narduzzi obviously had the players in position to make stops. In the spring game Saturday, this reporter observed only one play where one player was unclear where to be.

One thing is certain,Coach Narduzzi has done his homework. He has apparently listened to people who are familiar with the issues Pitt football has had, both general and specific, and he and his staff are fixing the issues.

Much more on the spring game in future articles, but enough to say that it is remarkable how this staff has been assembled and the amount of training they have done one-on-one with the players in just a few months. The coaches are just settling into their new location in the process of moving their families and, with that as a backdrop, they and their families should be commended for the total dedication they have already put into this program in a short time. It definitely showed on the field Saturday.

The majority of players had never played in a game or had limited playing time, so this was really their first full game. In that regard, it was a total success. The advantage is that the majority of them will be around now for quite a while.

With the backdrop also of former outstanding Pitt players (Larry Fitzgerald, Aaron Donald, Lesean McCoy, Curtis Wright, Rod Rutherford, Jim Covert, Bill Fralic, Sam Clancy and many others) spurring them on, the players efused inspired play throughout the game, including intense tackling along the sideline.

Next article, we will explore the plusses  and minuses of the spring game.

For now, we want to wish Coach Chryst at Wisconsin best of luck with his new team, and to thank Coach Mark Dantonio at Michigan State for allowing Coach Pat Narduzzi the opportunity to coach at PItt and for giving apparently outstanding training to his assistants.

The Pitt ship was righted in the correct direction by Coach Chryst, and now Coach Narduzzi has sent the ship into warp speed.

Coach Pat Narduzzi and Pitt Football – A New Start

Coach Pat Narduzzi has made it clear that all Pitt football players had a clean slate heading into spring practice. The spring practices conclude on April 18, when the spring Blue-Gold game will be held at 1 pm E.T. at Highmark Stadium on Pittsburgh’s south shore. Aaron Donald and Larry Fitzgerald have agreed to be honorary opposing coaches for the spring game.

Here’s a sampling of the new attitude:

http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2015/03/former_michigan_state_defensiv_4.html

One trait that has distinguished this season from the previous three is the intensity and energy. While Coach Paul Chryst did help the program gradually grow, note the following contrasts in recent interviews:

First, Coach Chryst:

http://www.buckys5thquarter.com/2015/4/9/8375191/wisconsin-badgers-football-spring-sojourn-shelton-alex-hornibrook

Now, note the interview (third frame from the top on Pitt’s Livewire)  with current Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi:

http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/blog/2015/03/

Some points for thought:

1. With Coach Narduzzi, everything is a competition.

Complacency is out the window.

2.  Coach Narduzzi has brought back the “fourth quarter” mentality of Johnny Majors.

What more could a Pitt fan ask?

For any Pitt fans who have watched Pitt football teams collapse near the end of the game so often, this is music to the ears.

3.Intensive individual instruction on technique is a critical part of the new coaching regime, and not only the players, but also the assistant coaches, have shown the same intense enthusiasm and enjoyment as head coach Pat Narduzzi.

4. The defensive issues seem to have been found out. Per player interviews, the main defensive problem was understanding the complexities of the defensive schemes under Coach House. Another issue we saw on the field was the lack of consistent intensity. Coaches Josh Conklin and Pat Narduzzi have simplified the schemes to the delight of the players (per video interviews), and Coach Narduzzi has upped the intensity to a fever pitch.

5. Coach Narduzzi is building a network by interacting with coaches and players everywhere.

6. We shouldn’t get so overly optimistic at this point, but it certainly looks now like the parts are in place for a surprising season.

Coach Narduzzi, Pitt Football – the Word is Energy

PItt football spring practice has begun, and many new looks are popping their heads out, even at this early time.

A main look of the new Pitt program under Coach Pat Narduzzi is energy. Another facet is enthusiasm.

Note in early spring videos from Pitt:

http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/blog/2015/03/video-coach-narduzzi-micd-up.html

Another hopeful step recently is the acquisition of two commits for 2016. One is from Brandon Ford, 6’5′ offensive tackle from Upper St. Clair. The other is from cornerback Tony Butler from Lakewood, Ohio.

Interviews with players have revealed that there has been a change in the teaching of defense. The more simple approach this year has been quicker for the players to grasp and caused less confusion.

Coach Narduzzi’s system is, simply spoken per him and linebacker Coach Rob Harley,  that they are going to line up in certain basic formations and challenge the offense to beat them, rather than going to more sophisticated, complicated sets.

Players are going to constantly be challenged, even the most gifted.

Speed and getting to the ball will be the main emphases on defense.

At this point, Nicholas Grigsby and Bam Bradley are heading the outside linebacker corps and Matt Galambos the middle linebacker spot.

So far interviews reveal the players are more focused on individual improvement and team improvement even than in recent seasons. Coach Narduzzi wants the players to stay energetic for all four quarters, especially the last quarter. This brought reminders of Coach Johnny Majors’ system of players keeping some in the tank for the last quarter, and then going all out at that time.

Again, I would compare Coach Narduzzi to the Chef Robert Irvine of Pitt football.

If the videos of practices and interviews are any indication, the spring game at Highmark Stadium on Saturday, April 18 should bring out some high energy and great plays and excite Pitt coaches, players, and fans alike.

Pitt Football Offseason Heats Up

Reasons to be optimistic for this fall:

Coach Pat Narduzzi has kept the intrigue about the upcoming season at a fever pitch with fans this offseason.

Pitt added 15 new signed recruits and has additionally acquired some walk-ons, notably New Castle Neshannock’s Jim Medure, who is projected by sources as an outside linebacker or tight end.

A possible transfer from Tennessee, Dewayne Hendrix, is on campus this weekend. Depending on his ability, this could be a major transfer, because his position is defensive end, Pitt’s current weakest spot. Coach Chaney could be a major link there, too, as he hails from Missouri and Dorsey is from next-door O’Fallon, Illinois, a suburb of Saint Louis. He would have to sit out a year, but that would be a solid foundation for the new coaches’ second year.

And the football coaches have been busy supporting the basketball teams and have attended games along with prospective recruits.

The offense v.s. defense tug-of-war videos have been a hit. If you haven’t seen Pitt tug-of-war on “you-tube,” recommend you take a look. This is the new energy and apparently reflects the no-nonsense, lively practices.

IMHO, what this group of coaches is adding to this year’s program:

P-pep

I-intensity

T-tenaciousness

T-thoroughness

Only five players have departed through transfer (four players) or dismissal (one player), and all of those played sparingly or not at all last season.

There will be a return of the spring practice game this year (yay!), and the date will be announced shortly.

If anyone was curious about the whereabouts of last season’s coaches, here is the most recent list I have compiled:

Head coach Paul Chryst – Wisconsin head coach

Offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph – offensive coordinator, Wisconsin

Defensive coordinator Matt House- defensive coordinator, Florida International

Offensive line coach Jim Hueber – unknown

Defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield – defensive line, Wisconsin

Wide receivers coach Greg Lewis – New Orleans Saints

Running backs coach John Settle – currently leading contender for running backs coach vacancy, Wisconsin

Defensive and special teams coach Chris Haering – special teams coach, Wisconsin

Defensive coach John Palermo – unknown

Defensive backfield coach Troy Douglas – unknown